Business View Oceania | January 2021

25 26 BUSINESS VIEW OCEANIA JANUARY 2021 BUSINESS VIEW OCEANIA JANUARY 2021 IDEAL FASTENERS PTY LTD fasteners. This service has also included testing of components for our customers that do not even involve the use of IDEAL Fasteners products. There is never a charge nor fee for this testing, it is all part of the service we offer to the customers that support us. “Coupled with this investment in our laboratory, our existing strengths and technical expertise is our sustained and strong involvement in the development of Australian Standards. Beginning with an active role within, and membership of, the Self-Drilling Fastener Suppliers Association (SDFSA) during the 1990s, I progressed to being the representative for the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) on the Standards Australia ME-029 fasteners committee during the 2000s – a role which I still hold today and remain actively involved with.” Differentiation “There is no other company we are aware of that is prepared to sacrifice the time, resources and costs involved to assist customers with their individual needs. I have often said that I have never sold anything in my life, despite being a salesperson for 40+ years. I simply help people and then they buy from me. Our mission statement is “Service, Quality & Professional Advice”. I believe if you do the right thing, most people will return the favour.” Business Partnerships “I have always held the belief that our suppliers are of equal importance as our customers, for without their support IDEAL Fasteners could not provide the service that we do to our customers. This means that the profitability of the company is often secondary to the maintenance of the relationship with customers and suppliers. Although this could be considered by some as a dangerous strategy, it has proven to have had the opposite effect by ensuring the loyal support of our suppliers and our growing customer base. “IDEAL Fasteners has worked closely with various other companies over the years to assist with the development and growth of the industry. Having State of the art Struers equipment. Materialographers all over the world, recognize Struers as the leading supplier of materialographic equipment solutions of the highest caliber. the screws and fasteners recommended by IDEAL Fasteners. This assists teachers and apprentices in increasing their knowledge for selecting and using fasteners with light gauge steel, and in transitioning from nails to self-drilling fasteners for improved efficiency in construction. This was all done at IDEAL Fasteners’ own expense, in the knowledge that the only benefit for us would be that our products would be before the teachers who are responsible for delivering this training around Australia. We think of it as not just an investment in our future but as a community service to the carpentry and steel framing industries.” Future “Most significantly is the building of a new National Headquarters for IDEAL Fasteners on a 7,500 square metre site in Keysborough, Melbourne. Initial planning was commenced in early 2020 but put on hold due to COVID-19. The future always holds challenges, and it is how those challenges are received that is important. The future for IDEAL Fasteners has to be to maintain and increase our reputation for caring primarily about the customers’ needs and translating that into what we, with the help of our suppliers, can do to best meet those needs. “Hopefully with our continued work with the development of Australian Standards, the NCC and the Non-Conforming Building Products legislation, we will reach the point where cheap, substandard products are driven from the market, leaving the door open for companies like IDEAL Fasteners whose marketing strategy is one of high quality and high service, rather than low price and low quality. At the top of my agenda is succession planning and implementation of the transition of the business into the hands of our children, all three of which are gainfully employed within the organisation.” Overview of the lab. Instron Tensile Testing machines. These machines are used ex- tensively for testing the connections in steel framing applications where our fasteners are used. worked with BlueScope for decades, we recently collaborated with them to contribute to a training program they were undertaking with industry to train teachers within TAFEs and other RTOs across Australia who are registered to provide training in Certificate III in Carpentry. BlueScope had identified the need to provide training to carpentry apprentices in how to build with light steel in addition to the traditional timber product. “IDEAL Fasteners were more than happy to work with BlueScope to assist with this program. Our support included the development of a Light Gauge Steel Framing Fastener Selection guide, which has been, and continues to be, provided to every RTO they train, as well as sample packs of all